Good-bye, Good Luck, and Godspeed

All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter. All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Yes! - Romans 16:25-27 (The Message)

•       “Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

•       “Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than to remember me and cry.” ― Dr. Seuss

•       “Good bye may seem forever. Farewell is like the end, but in my heart is the memory and there you will always be.” ― Walt Disney Company

•       “Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

•       “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP” ― Leonard Nimoy

•       “It's the emptiest and yet the fullest of all human messages: 'Good-bye.”  ― Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Bluebeard

•       “And then they bid their final goodbye which marked the end of their story. And beginning of two new stories.” 
― Crestless Wave

•       “I Salute to our journey's end.” ― Jerhia

•       “It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse.” ― Yann Martel, Life of Pi

•       “Even as I hold you, I am letting you go.” ― Alice Walker

•       “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying Goodbye so hard.” – Winnie the Pooh

So many years, so many thoughts, so many brain droppings, some good words, some bad words, some words that just hung there. This Musing thing has been quite a ride. I don’t really know how to say goodbye in some way that speaks to the depth and intensity I feel about the years we have spent together. Most of you don’t comment. Most of you never see me and we never communicate. In a lot of ways this has been a one-way relationship and yet it hasn’t been. Occasionally someone will comment, will see me someplace and speak to me, will share how one of these touched them or came at just the right time or in some way was meaningful. That’s one of the reasons I have done them. But the main reason is quite selfish, I wanted to wrestle with me, my thoughts and feelings and reactions and short-comings but felt that I could not, nay should not do it alone. I needed a community to listen and to be there. I didn’t need advice or well-wishes I needed to know someone was there, that they cared and that I was being heard. It is a lot like prayer, not many responses but I feel a whole lot different when I am done.

So, thank you. Thank you for reading these Musings. Thank you for caring about me. Thank you for letting them touch you in some way. Thank you for being a community of love and support for me. Thank you for the comments you have shared with me. If I have touched your life in some way that made a difference, I am pleased. If I have been a voice speaking from the wilderness that has assisted you in your journey, it was the Spirit at work in both of us. If you have deleted these with a shrug of your shoulder, thanks for letting me get it out.

I will be starting something new. I will have an entirely different job and therefore perspective beginning in July. I am not sure where the Spirit will lead me but I know I will need to share with a community and you will be welcome to find me and join in. So, until we meet again, goodbye and God bless!

God, thanks for this ride and those who took it with me. Amen.